For nearly two decades, The SETI League has provided a series of communications outlets for its members, through various email discussion groups, web forums, and distribution lists. With the increasing popularity of Social Networking, we have disbanded these obsolete media, in favor of Facebook. We encourage our members and the general public to participate in discussions about the technical, scientific, and cultural aspects of SETI on our Facebook page. These discussions are open to anyone "Liking" our Facebook page, and will be moderated only to the extent necessary to ensure that all posts respect the spirit of The SETI League's stated Vision and Mission.

The information below, which deals with dormant forums and groups, is retained for historical purposes only.

The SETI League, Inc. is pleased to announce the Argus email list, a closed forum for the internal use of all SETI League members in good standing. This list is intended for technical discussions regarding equipment design, construction, and operation of Project Argus stations only.

The SETI League also maintains several additional special-interest email lists, as follows:

All general discussions and news posts relating to the broad fields of bioastronomy, astrobiology, space exploration, and related disciplines should be conducted over the open"BioAstro" email discussion list.

All administrative coordination between SETI League officers, committee chairs, and volunteer Regional Coordinators should be conducted over the closed "Volcor" email discussion list.

All discussions relating directly to SETI science, technology, philosophy and strategies in general should be directed to the open"Public" email discussion list.

Periodic SETI League press releases are disseminated to members of the press corps, SETI League officials, and other interested persons, via the open"PressRel" email distribution list.

Rules and Policies pertaining to the Argus list

General:

Since the Argus list is subsidized by SETI League members through their dues contributions, several constraints have been imposed upon this closed forum.

Technical discussion of both microwave and optical SETI projects, and related scientific studies dealing specifically with extra-terrestrial intelligence, is welcome. Such discussion should emphasize rigorous SETI science, as conducted by the SETI League, Inc. and other recognized, reputable scientific organizations.

No discussions of UFOlogy or paranormal phenomena should be conducted on this list. Other, more appropriate forums exist for discussing such topics.

No copyright material may be posted to this list except by the copyright holder.

Reposts of documents from other discussion lists may be made only by the original author.

Links to relevant articles on the web are encouraged.

No advertisements or commercial posts are permitted.

Materials posted to this list should be consistent with the Vision and Mission of the SETI League, Inc.

Allocation of resources:

In the event of any conflict in bandwidth or resources between the needs of the closed Argus email list and The SETI League's scientific mission and program requirements, the latter will take precedence.

Subscribing to the list:

The "Argus" list is hosted on the SETI League server seti1.setileague.org, and is maintained through the magic of MajorDomo list-processing software. SETI League members in good standing are invited to subscribe to this service. To subscribe, send an email to majordomo at setileague dot org, and type "subscribe argus me@email.adr" in the message body (where "me@email.adr" must be replaced by the email address from which you will post messages to the List). After your eligibility has been verified, you will receive an automated message containing an authorization code, which you will then email back to majordomo, completing the registration process.

Posting to the list:

Once registered, users will receive a detailed email telling you how to post to the list. Your postings should then be addressed to argus at setileague dot org. Please do not send email to this address if you are not registered to the ARGUS list. Postings will be sent to the email address from which your subscribe message originated. Users are asked to keep posts short, to the point, respectable, and on topic.

Use a single email address:

Many SETI League members have multiple email addresses. Please remember that your posts will only be accepted and passed on if they originate from the exact email address which you used to subscribe. If you post from another email address, even though you are a registered list participant, that email will bounce to the List Administrator, who will have to try to figure out from the email address who you are, and if you are an authorized user. Since most such posts simply end up falling into the Black Hole of Binaria, please remember the email address under which you are subscribed, and use it as "from" for all your posts.

Unsubscribing from the list:

If you later wish to unsubscribe from this list, it will be necessary to send an email to majordomo at setileague dot org, with "unsubscribe argus me@email.adr" typed in the body (where "me@email.adr" is as described above). Please do not email to the Executive Director, or the Secretary, or post a message to the list asking to be removed; nobody else can unsubscribe you from the list. And please note that any unsubscribe requests must be sent from the exact email address under which you subscribed, as the majordomo program looks at the "from" line to know who to remove.

Changing your email address:

Should your email address change, it will be necessary for you first to unsubscribe your old address, per paragraph 6 above, and then resubscribe under your new address, per paragraph 3 above. Please do not post a meassage to the List, or send a message to SETI League headquarters, asking that your email address be changed. Only the MajorDomo software can make that change for you, and such actions must be initiated by you.

No Attachments!

Our list manager respectfully requests that you not attach files to your emails posted to the list. Remember that your attachments (especially graphics) are extremely bandwidth-intensive, and that they would be going to not one, but perhaps hundreds of recipients, many of whom may be paying by the minute for connect time. If you have a graphic or other file which may be of interest to the list, please post a text message describing it and declaring its availability, and then send it individually (off-list) to anyone requesting it. In other words:

Do notsend wave files, images, or program source code of any type via the List.

Do notsend Word documents. They tend to waste a lot of space and may include confidential information you did not intend to send.

Do notsend HTML formatted e-mail. Be sure to turn off the HTML formatting option in your e-mail program. This includes all Outlook users. HTML e-mail consumes 3 to 4 times as much space as plain text and may force your font and color scheme on the recipient. Please check the help files in your e-mail program to find out how to turn off HTML e-mail.

Thanks for your cooperation.

Closed list:

SETI League members are reminded that this is a closed-subscription list, for SETI League members only. We regret that list participation is not open to the general public. Click here for information on registering for the open email list, public at setileague dot org.

Archives

SETI League member Stephen Zarkos has graciously volunteered to maintain monthly archives of List discussions, arranged by thread. Since Argus is a closed email list, these archives are not open to the public, but may be accessed by SETI League members in good standing only. See the Members-Only web pages for access. Log in using the user name and password that are supplied to all members when you join or renew.

Have You Disappeared From The List?

Occasionally, participants will report that they haven't received any messages in quite some time, and ask if they have been removed from the list. Yes, despite our best efforts to maintain email lists, people do occasionally inexplicably disappear from them. Former SETI League Internet Services chair Bob Cutter explains: "If mail is bounced back to the server, the name is removed from the list. Why is the mail bounced back? Many reasons: mailbox full because you are on holiday, you are a student and the term has ended, you dropped your AOL account, one of the computers in the chain had a bad day, etc. Nothing sinister going on or intended."

If you feel this has happened to you, simply re-subscribe per the above instructions, and accept our apologies for the inconvenience.

Addressing Administrative Requests:

All administrative-type messages, such as subscribe, unsubscribe, or resubscribe requests, as discussed above, must be addressed to majordomo at setileague dot org. Do not address such messages to the list itself, via argus at setileague dot org, as they will not be acted upon, but will instead be sent to every list participant.

Prohibited Words:

The MajorDomo list manager software used by all SETI League email discussion lists has a few specific words reserved for administrative requests. The valid administrative requests most frequently generated by List members are "subscribe" and "unsubscribe". All too many members erroneously send such requests to the entire list, rather than to the list processor address majordomo at setileague dot org (see above). Thus, MajorDomo is set to reject any message posted to the List which contains these words in the text. If you have a legitimate need to use the words "subscribe" or "unsubscribe" in the text of any messages posted to the List, and choose not to use synonyms, please insert hyphens, thus: "sub-scribe"; "un-sub-scribe". Otherwise, your message will be blocked.

Note: this requirement applies to messages addressed to argus at setileague dot org specifically. Any actual administrative requests sent to majordomo at setileague dot org may indeed contain the words "subscribe" or "unsubscribe".

These Policies shall have the force and effect of Bylaws of The SETI League, Inc. They may be amended as necessary from time to time by the Board of Trustees. Amendments or revisions shall become effective as of 0001 UTC on the day following the date of their posting to the World Wide Web site of The SETI League, Inc.